Episode 9 of Kemurikusa has been released! There's no explanation for the characters or the storyline, and there are a lot of things I don't understand.
I was curious, so I did some research. People who've been watching since the series was self-produced have been speculating about it, and this time I'd like to introduce the relationship between the characters and the Buddhist concept of the eight consciousnesses!
What are the eight consciousnesses?
First, let's talk about the eight consciousnesses. This is a Buddhist term, and simply put, it describes how Buddha taught about human psychology. It's said that humans have eight major divisions, known as the "eight consciousnesses."
The eight consciousnesses are as follows:
The more I researched it, the more complicated it became, so I've simplified it greatly.
Eye consciousness (genshiki): Sight
Ear consciousness (nishiki): Hearing
Nose consciousness (bishiki): Smell
Tongue consciousness (zeshiki): Taste
Body consciousness (shinshiki): Touch
These five are what we call the five senses. Consciousness (ishiki) is the thought that drives these five senses. It is heavily influenced by manas and alaya-vijnana.
Manas (manashiki): The mind that is attached to the ego and the body. It becomes an unconscious idea (aversion, likes, dislikes).
Alaya-vijnana (araya-vijnana): It is said to be the deepest level of consciousness an individual possesses. In Buddhism, which preaches the doctrine of reincarnation, it is believed to continue even after the body perishes. Since alaya (araya) means storehouse and shiki means mind, it is also called the "storehouse mind."
Just like a real storehouse, the Arayashiki is where the most important things in our consciousness are stored. It is also called the Seed Sense.
The characters in Kemurikusa are said to have abilities inspired by this Hashiki.
Each character is said to correspond to one of the eight consciousnesses.
Ritsu, the only cat-eared character, has Nishiki (Ear Sense). Her ears often glow. Rina eats a lot of junk, so she has Zesshiki (Tongue Sense).
Riku, the touch-loving girl who appeared in episode 6, is a Shinshiki (body consciousness).
Ryoku, who was skilled at seeing into the distance, is a Genshiki (eye consciousness).
After his death, this ability was passed on to Rin,
who is now a Ishiki (consciousness). The reason Rin's eyes glow is likely because she inherited Ryo's Genshiki (eye consciousness).
Perhaps Rin's consciousness is heavily influenced by Manas and Arayashiki, which is why she blushes in front of Wakaba? Ryo is unlikely to appear in the anime, but perhaps he is the remaining Bishiki (nose consciousness).
The first person to appear only in writing, or the memory leaf, is a Manas (manas). Details have not been released yet, so it's hard to say for sure.
Wakaba is an Arayashiki (alayashiki).
This makes sense, then, as to why young leaves have antennae and can eat Kemurikusa.
It's a simple explanation, but that's all for now!
Since the story is still full of mysteries, you might enjoy the anime even more if you watch it while thinking about the world it was created in!!
